Some U.S. hospitals have no other choice but to postpone expansion plans and delay hiring more people, as the future of Obamacare remains uncertain amid a Republican push to repeal the program.

Infrastructure development plans to accommodate more patients will take a backseat for now, as the GOP-controlled White House and Congress are unable to find common ground on a new healthcare bill. Emergency Staffing Solutions and other custom-tailored management and staffing providers added that those looking to fill jobs at hospitals and other medical facilities might need to seek help from providers of physician staffing services to make things work.

Crippling Effect

The decision of hospitals to delay hiring will likely affect the pace of employment growth in the sector, just as when jobs have picked up in February. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed that hospitals added 6,300 jobs in February. Healthcare, ambulatory healthcare services employment added 18,300 workers in the same month. In 2016, the industry created 30,000 jobs per month on average.

As far as 2017 goes, hospital employment rose by 8,775 per month on average. That’s lower compared to 11,413 jobs through the years, so the delay in hiring people will likely contribute to a further decline in employment growth.

Insurance Losses

House GOP members introduced the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as a replacement to Obamacare, which expanded insurance coverage for approximately 20 million people. However, that may change with 14 million Americans likely losing their insurance in 2018 under the AHCA. What’s more, the number of uninsured people is expected to grow up to 19% by 2026, bringing the total number of people without insurance to roughly 52 million.

While the U.S. government finds a way to revoke Obamacare, the uncertainty whether or not a new bill would materialize causes the healthcare industry to adopt a wait-and-see approach, which ultimately hurt ordinary citizens especially those without insurance.